Harriet Potter and the Year She's Not a Guy
by BoredBySanity
Summary: According to the Wizarding World, Harry Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived. But when they realize that their precious Boy-Who-Lived is actually the Girl-Who-Lived, the wizarding world is turned on its head. Learning from strange teachers, eating awesome food and fighting bad guys: all in a days work for Harriet Potter. A Fem!Harry story.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The young red head opened her eyes, staring in wonder at the big thing carrying her. This wasn't her father, the man with the shining hazel eyes, much like her own, nor was it her mother, the pretty woman with hair the same color as hers. The red head could hear a noise in the background, a loud, bothersome roaring. She sighed, and snuggled back into the warmth of the green blanket that surrounded her.

A few moments later, a series of bumps and kids awoke the young girl with a start. The roaring noise was cut, and she was vaguely aware of a sense of moving. She could see a strange, brightly colored man, and a woman that seemed to be in shock.

"This is he?" The bright colored man said.

"Yes, professor Dumbledore." The big thing said, passing the young girl to bright colored man. The bright colored thing shifted her around, but neither of them seemed to notice the fact that it wasn't a boy. The young girl yawned and turned over, the darkness welcoming her once again.

The next thing she realized was a high pitched sound and a woman screaming with all her might.


	2. The Glass that Disappeared

Nearly ten years had passed since that day. The day the Dursley's had found their niece lying out on their doorstep, yawning in her pink blankets. Privet Drive hadn't changed, like always. The people had, yes, but never the place. The sun would rise on the brass number four outside the Dursley's house, and, as per usual, would illuminate the boring, tasteless living room of Number Four Privet Drive. It would most likely create a glare on the photos on the mantel, showing the only change that would probably ever come to Privet Drive. Ten years previously, it showed a large, ugly pink beach ball in even uglier bonnets, but now it showed a fat blonde boy in various places and positions with his mother and father, the only sign of another child in the house the small picture with the fat blonde and the curvy redheaded girl. Yes, Privet Drive was as unchanged and uncreative as usual.

And Harriet Potter hated it all.

Which was why she was currently spray painting the wall of the closest alley. What she was painting, no one could tell, for it was unfinished. Harriet checked her watch, an action she had been repeating religiously every ten minutes for the last two hours. The time was currently 9:00, and she thanked her lucky stars the Dursleys never got up before 10:30. Still, she didn't want to cut it close. Harriet packed up the spray paint cans and headed back out of the alley. She scooted around trees and through the mini forest that was behind the long, identical rows of houses that covered Privet Drive and the surrounding streets. Harriet passed the small creek that trickled throughout the forest, pausing slightly to wash some mud off her hands from tripping. She finally reached Number Four and scaled the small trellis right under her bedroom window. It had once held a small rosebush, but Aunt Petunia had lost interest in it's upkeep (probably because no one could see it) and the roses had withered and died, save a small section which Harriet saved and grew in her window. Harriet entered her room and slipped out of the old, ratty jeans and t-shirt ensemble she had thrown on to paint, and back into her pajamas. She slipped into bed and fell asleep.

Harriet woke up about two hours later to her Aunt banging on her door. Oh, yes. Harriet had nearly forgotten. Today was her cousin Dudley's birthday. She groaned and sat up, half-listening to her Aunt as she threw on a sea foam green blouse and a pair of faded blue jeans. Her aunt had once tried to dress her in Dudley's old clothes; however, he was so much bigger than Harriet that the clothes didn't even stay on. So Harriet got second hand clothes from thrift stores, which she didn't mind too much. She liked a bit of history in her clothing.

Perhaps it had something to do with never getting enough sleep, but Harriet had always been small and skinny for her age. She was made smaller and skinnier by her piles of red, thick, curly hair. Harriet had a small, heart shaped face and mischievous hazel eyes. She wore thin square glasses held together with lots of scotch tape because that was the place they broke when her uncle threw them across the room. But Harriet's favorite part of her appearance was the thin lightning shaped scar on her face. She had had it as long as she could remember, and the first thing she ever ever remembered was asking her aunt how she had gotten it."In the car crash when your parents," She had said. "And don't ask questions about them."

Harriet headed down the steps of the stairs, passing Dudley's room on her way. She shook her head as she saw his fat form asleep under a mound of blankets. She thought of Dudley as the closest thing she would ever get to a brother, but he was way overfed and spoiled. Perhaps, when he went to Smeltings this year, she could send a false letter from the nurse concerning his health...

Still plotting nefarious deeds for the good of her cousin, Harriet entered the kitchen. She could hear bacon sizzling on the stove, and automatically moved to take the pan from her Aunt. To her surprise, her Aunt smiled at her when she took the pan. She moved over to the toaster to make some toast. A platter of eggs was on the table already, and a bowl of hash browns. Harriet was surprised her Aunt had started without her; usually Harriet did most of the cooking, She did it to get out of other chores, and Harriet liked to cook. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes, exposing the lightning shaped scar on her forehead. Harriet quickly rearranges her hair so it was out of her eyes but covering her scar. Aunt Petunia hated seeing her scar; she said it reminded her of something bad she had done and couldn't correct. Harriet thought it had something to do with her mother, and her mother's death, because whenever the subject of her mother was broached, Aunt Petunia clammed up and made something for herself to do so she wouldn't have to talk about it.

Harriet served her plate and sat down thoughtfully. Her uncle entered the kitchen and ignored her; as usual. Dudley entered soon after him, and complained about his presents. Harriet rolled her eyes and slipped a small, wrapped box to him under the table when he sat down. He gave her a small smile, and tucked it into his jacket pocket. Dudley and Harriet had an understanding: Harriet couldn't get him anything expensive, so she would give him something handmade for Christmas and birthdays. He, in turn, would sneak her something useful or expensive. They were really close, despite Dudley's various faults and her inherent guessed it had something about herself that made him want to protect her. She already knew why she liked Dudley. She was a fixer, and she wanted to fix Dudley. She was working on it, but it was hard. He was really set in his ways!

Harriet quickly finished her meal and deposited her plate in the sink. Aunt Petunia took a call while Harriet gathered the other dishes. Unsurprisingly, the entire meal (which could probably feed six grown men) had been finished, mostly by Dudley. She looked at her cousin with a raised eyebrow,but he only managed a burp in reply. Wrinkling her nose, she turned to the dishwasher and began filling it. At this point, Aunt Petunia returned the kitchen. "Mrs. Figg broke her leg. She can't take Harriet today."

Dudley covered up his hopeful expression with a look of horror. Harriet felt a glimmer of hope blossom in her chest as well. Every year, Dudley had a birthday party, and his parents took him and a friend or two to the movies, to restaurants, to amusement parks. They left her at Mrs. Figg's, because strange things happened to Harriet. But maybe, just maybe, they would take her this year.

"Now what?" Aunt Petunia asked. She didn't really care whether or not Harriet came, but she always deferred to her husband on such matters. Harriet was secretly cheering on the inside. She might be able to actually go with Dudley somewhere! Harriet rarely left the house except for school.

"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon said. Harriet, in her internal cheering, had clearly missed her Uncle saying something, probably about her _not_ going with them. Harriet's hopes deflated slightly.

Aunt Petunia nearly snorted in laughter. "Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates Harriet."

_The feeling's mutual,_ thought Harriet drily.

"What about what's-her-name, your friend-Yvonne?"

"She's in Majorca, on vacation with her husband."

"You could leave me here," Harriet tried. If she couldn't go with the Dursleys, then maybe she could hang out on Tumblr for hours, and watch a ton of Doctor Who on BBC.

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" Oh yes, she had forgotten. _You blow up something in the microwave _one _time, and they never let you live it down, _ Harriet thought sourly.

"I'll try not to blow anything up this time..." She said, trailing off when she discovered they were no longer listening to her. Her Uncle was thinking, and with his infinitesimally small brain power, he couldn't focus on many things at one time.

"We could just take her to the zoo," Said Uncle Vernon slowly, "...And leave her in the car?"

"Are you trying to get arrested?" Said Aunt Petunia, clearly annoyed. There was only so much she could put up with. "That's neglect!"

"Right, right."

Dudley suddenly began wailing. Harriet looked at him in confusion. (Later, Dudley would tell her he had spotted his friend Piers Polkiss, who was coming on the trip, and tried to distract his parents for long enough so they would have no option but to let her on the trip. Harriet would be surprised by his ingenuity.)

Aunt Petunia rushed over to Dudley and began fussing about him. Dudley shot Harriet a wink over his mother shoulder. Harriet had a feeling he was planning something.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Oh dear, they're here!" Aunt Petunia cried, rushing to the door. A moment later, Piers walked in the room, shooting a glance at Harriet. He'd had a crush on her all year, and was still upset she didn't return his feelings ("As if I would want to go out with a bully like you!" She had said). Piers was the smallest and meanest member of Dudley's group, and he was the one who held people's arms behind their backs whilst the other hit them (he really wasn't big enough to pack a big punch). Dudley stopped pretending to cry almost immediately.

Half an hour of awkward conversations later, Harriet was sitting in the back of the Dursley's car, next to window, farthest away from Piers. They were off to the zoo. Harriet was immensely excited. She loved the zoo, especially the reptile house with the snakes. Her aunt and uncle just couldn't decide what else to do with her. Before the had left, however, Uncle Vernon took her aside,

"I'm warning you," He had said, putting a large finger in her face. Harriet simply raised her eyebrow. "I'm warning you right now-any funny business, anything at all-and you'll be grounded in you room from now 'till the end of summer."

Harriet rolled her eyes. "Are you really stupid enough to believe I try to do strange things?"

Uncle Vernon just glared at her.

Unfortunately, a lot of strange things seemed to happen around Harriet, and it did nothing to tell her aunt and uncle she didn't try to make it happen.

Once, Aunt Petunia had taken her to get a short bob cut, to tame her wild curls. Harriet hated bob cuts, as she liked her long hair to run behind her whenever there was wind. Also, her hair was one of the things she had in common with her mother, whom she didn't remember and only knew through a few pictures her aunt had. The cut was horrible, and Harriet went to bed dreading the next day without her precious hair. The next morning, however, her hair was back to it's wild, untamed state. Uncle Vernon didn't believe she had nothing to do with it (how could she? No normal child could grow their hair back in under eight hours), so she was grounded to her room and received no breakfast and dinner afterward.

Then, there was a time when Aunt Petunia had found an absolutely ugly sweater at a thrift shop (Pepto-Bismol pink with a cartoon cat on it) and was trying to force it on Harriet. Every time she tried to get it over her head, however, the sweater shrunk, until it would barely fit on a doll. Thankfully, Aunt Petunia simply thought she had the wrong size, so she received no punishment from that.

However, there was that one time where she ran from the older girls who were making fun of her for her second hand clothes (Harriet wasn't upset, she was just annoyed how they wouldn't leave her alone), and she had accidentally opened a locked closet where... well, she'd rather not think about what was transpiring in that closet between two of the teachers. Of course, she had gotten in trouble for supposedly stealing the keys from the janitor. All she had been trying to do (as she yelled at Uncle Vernon from inside her room) was to find a place to hide. Harriet supposed the door wasn't actually as well locked as they thought it was (even with the deadbolts that had been installed because of the chemicals in there).

Finally, Harriet began to learn that strange things happened to her when she was under extreme emotional duress. Eventually, she learned to keep her emotions in, and keep a blank face no matter the situation. It worked most of the time.

Today, Harriet was determined to keep her mask in place, and not let her emotions get out of control. Nothing strange, mildly unusual or even entertaining would be caused by her today.

While he drove, Uncle Vernon liked to complain. (Whom to was a mystery, as no one really listened.) His favorite topics were the bank, Harriet, people at work, Harriet, politics, and Harriet were some of his favorite topics. Today's topic was motorcycles.

"...roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle rushed passed them. Funny, it looked like the seat was made of skin...Harriet said this.

Uncle Vernon nearly crashed the car out of fright. He turned around in his seat and pointed a large, beefy finger in her face and yelled at her, his face like a beet (if said beet had a large bushy moustache. "MOTORCYCLES DON'T HAVE SKIN ON THE SEATS!" Uncle Vernon was panting with the volume of his screams. Harriet merely raised an eyebrow at Dudley, who was snickering at his father's absolute meltdown. Honestly, she said it _looked _like skin, not that it _was_. Harriet could not believe he was overreacting this badly.

"I know they don't," Harriet said, rolling her eyes. "I said it looked like it."

She wished she hadn't said anything. Uncle Vernon had a borderline disturbing reaction to anything not normal. It made her want to puke. It didn't matter whether it was a cartoon, or a movie, or anything-he seemed to think she'd get dangerous ideas. _Like that would even work, _She thought. _You'd have to have magical powers for it to work._

When they finally arrived at the zoo, it was sunny, the way everyone wanted a Saturday to be. The zoo was crowded was way too many families, making Harriet nervous. She wasn't one for large crowds. They bought Dudley, Piers and Harriet ice cream at the entrance (the last because the woman had asked her what she wanted). It was one of the few times she had ever had ice cream, too, she thought as she looked at a gorilla that looked remarkably like Dudley, but without blond had the best morning she'd had in a long time. She was careful to walk only next to Dudley, away from Piers and her uncle and aunt. Dudley was starting to get bored by lunch, along with Piers. They ate lunch at one of the zoo's restaurants, and after a clearly planned temper tantrum about his sunday by Dudley, Harriet was allowed to finish the first. Looking back on it later, Harriet supposed she knew it wouldn't last.

After lunch, they headed to the reptile house, a cool, dark place with many snakes and lizards, behind glass windows. It was dark and mysterious, and there were less people there, so Harriet absolutely loved it. Dudley and Piers, being typical boys, wanted to see the huge, man-crushing pythons. (They also assumed they were poisonous, but a lot of them weren't.) Dudley soon found the biggest, scariest looking snake in the whole place. So naturally, it was asleep.

"Make it move," Dudley whined at his father. Uncle Vernon rapped on the glass, but the snake didn't wake up.

"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Harriet rolled her eyes; there were plenty of other interesting creatures in the place, but Dudley was not interested. Uncle Vernon rapped even harder on the glass, drawing the irritated look of a zoo aide, but he didn't notice."This boring," Dudley moaned, shuffling over to the next biggest snake.

Harriet moved in front of the glass and stared at the snake's beautiful scales. She wouldn't be surprised if the snake had been bored to death-no company except stupid people trying to get it to do something interesting all day long. As if it actually wanted to do anything like squeeze a full grown creature to death, but the people were stupid. At least Harriet wasn't confined to a much too small space, and she could visit the rest of the house.

Suddenly, the snake opened it's eyes. It raised its head until it was staring straight into Harriet's eyes._It winked._Or at least, as close as a snake could get to winking, anyway. Harriet's eyes widened, and she stared at the python. She looked to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. She looked back at the snake and gave it a small smile.

The snake jerked its head towards her relatives, then it raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harriet a look that said, quite plainly:"_I get that all the time."_Harriet nodded at the snake. "I know how you feel. it must be incredibly annoying." Somehow, she knew it could hear her, and, what's more, understand her."Where do you come from, anyway?" Harriet asked, intrigued by the large snake.

The snake jabbed its tail at the sign on its box. Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

"Ah, I see. Was it nice there?"The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harriet read the last part: This specimen was bred in the zoo.

"Oh, that's too bad, I would love to hear about Brazil. It looks nice there."

The snake shook its head sadly. Suddenly, a shout from behind her made Harriet and the snake jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T _BELIEVE _WHAT IT'S DOING!"

As Piers passed her, he sneered and shoved her to the ground.

"Out of the way, you." He said. He looked as if he would continue, but Dudley shot him a look and offered Harriet a hand. Her anger flashed at Piers, and suddenly, the glass was gone and the snake was slithering hadn't shattered. It hadn't even fallen out. The glass had simply _disappeared_

_._Harriet gasped as it passed her. A small nip on her ankle that she thought was the snake surprised her, but when she looked, it was a smaller snake that had been in the same enclosure. With a smile, she picked up the small green snake and it wound itself around her over at the other snake, she swear she heard it say, "Brazil, here I come...Thanksss, amigo."

The keeper was in shock."But the glass," He kept saying, "where did the glass go?"

Harriet figured that, in the confusion, no one would notice the snake she had zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon a cup of tea while apologizing over and over again. Piers and Dudley couldn't only stutter. As far Harriet could tell, the snake hadn't even done anything except snap at their heels as it passed, but by the time they had left, Dudley was regaling them with tales of it almost biting off his leg, and Piers swearing up and down it had tried squeeze him to death. But worst of all, at least for Harriet, was when Piers was calming down enough to say, "Harriet, you were talking to it, right?"

Uncle Vernon managed to wait until Piers was out of the house before exploding. He was so angry he could barely get the words out. He managed to say, "Go-cupboard-stay-no meals," before collapsing into a nearby chair. Aunt Petunia ran to get him a large brandy.

~oO0Oo~

Harriet lay in her dark room. She wished the clock was set next to her bed, but she never remembered to set it. She wasn't sure what time it was, and she couldn't be sure her Aunt and Uncle were sleeping, so she could sneak out and get some food.

A knock on her door alerted her to her surroundings. Getting up with a sigh, she headed to the door and cracked it open. She threw it open when she saw it was Dudley, holding a plate of food. He gave it to her, and Harriet smiled. Dudley turned around and left, presumably heading to his room.

A soft hiss greeted her as she closed the door and turned around. A small green snake slithered off her rosebush and towards the plate of food. It was the snake from earlier at the zoo, and after talking to it earlier, Harriet had discovered that A: She could talk to snakes, and B: The snake (who had introduced herself Letalis) had the ability to change into a necklace on will. Harriet also felt that she wasn't telling her something, but she decided not to push the issue.

After all, she'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten year, ten miserable years, as long as she could remember. She'd followed their rules ever since she'd been a baby and her parents died in that car crash. Harriet couldn't remember being in the car with her parents that night (though it was to be expected, as she was _one _at the time. Sometimes, as she pushed her memory to it's limits during long hours with no sleep, she could come up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on her forehead. This, she supposed, was the crash, though she couldn't think of where the green light had come from. Harriet couldn't remember her parents at all. She supposed her mother had had red hair, because more than once she had caught Aunt Petunia staring at it sadly.

When she was younger, she had hoped for some unknown relation to come and take her away, or for her godfather or mother to come and get her. It had never happened, as her godfather/mother were apparently didn't care about her (or perhaps in prison for some offense they hadn't committed, or mentally unfit or something), and the Dursley's were her only family. She had seen one person look at her strangely, as if remembering a person from there past that looked similar to her. That had happened quite a few times, and the strangers were very odd. The oddest part about them was that as soon as she tried to get a better look at them, they would school, Harriet had one friend, Hermione Granger, who was just as odd as she. Hermione had never been to her house, and she didn't like going to her house and seeing her happy family (Hermione had been hurt by this, but Harriet never had the guts to tell her the reason), so they only saw each other occasion. Everybody knew that the other girls didn't like that strange Harriet Potter with her second hand clothes and Hermione Granger with her books, and nobody wanted to break the mold enough to go against the popular crowd at school and suffer social exile.

**A/N: I feel like a bad person for not posting this sooner. **

**Anyone catch the PJO reference? Whoever can name it (it's very vague, but it refers to the first book) gets a virtual cookie :3.**

**So yeah! Next chapter should be up whenever I feel like it. I have issues with my computer's power chord (again) so it may be a while. Thank you for staying with me for all this time! I'm not the best on deadlines :D**


	3. A Letter and and Explanation

The escape of the Boa Constrictor from Brazil landed Harriet her longest punishment yet. By the time she could leave her room (with Uncle Vernon's permission), it was summer and Dudley had destroyed most of his new toys. (The wooden piggy bank she had carved still sat on Dudley's bedside table, along with the other various carvings for him.) He had broken his new video camera (throwing across the room when he couldn't figure out the buttons), crashed his remote control airplane into the hedge and knocked down Mrs. Figg with his racing bike as she tried to cross the road on her crutches. Dudley had received a mouthful from her on that one; while Mrs. Figg wasn't her favorite person, she still thought it was terribly impolite to knock down an older lady, especially a crippled one.

Harriet wasn't too terribly happy that school was over, as she wouldn't see Hermione for a long time, especially because Hermione was going to a strange new private school for gifted children in Scotland. Harriet had nearly cried when she was told. However, she promised to visit Hermione on holidays, when Stonewall High got out.

Despite the lack of Hermione, Harriet excited to go Stonewall in the fall. All the meanest girls from her school had been accepted to prestigious academies, and Harriet would be able to get closer to other people without their merciless teasing. Hopefully, no one would see any of the strange things she did, until they became a good friend of hers. Dudley, on the other hand, was going to Uncle Vernon's alma mater, Smeltings. Piers was going as well (thankfully for Harriet).

One nice day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to get his Smeltings' uniform, and Harriet was left Mrs. Figg. She wasn't as bad as usual. Usually, Harriet was made to look at all her cats, and had nothing to do except play with them (which wasn't that bad, but there was only so long she could play with a cat without getting bored). This day, however, Mrs. Figg had an errand to run in London, so she let Harriet go to a nearby bookshop and she discovered a very interesting book. Assuming it was a fantasy book, which was her favorite genre, she took it up to the counter to pay for it, only to be surprised when the woman, with a sly wink, gave it to her for free. Taking Hogwarts, A History under her arm, Harriet thanked the woman profusely, although she was slightly confused by the wink, and skipped the rest of the way to Mrs. Figg's house.

When she went back to the Dursley's, Dudley noticed her strange happiness. "What's got you so happy?" He asked, confused as to how someone could be so happy staying with Mrs. Figg. Raising a finger to her lips, Harriet showed him the book. No one ever really said she couldn't have books, but she didn't want to chance it.

"What's Hogwarts?" Dudley asked, curious. Harriet shrugged. She slipped past her fat cousin (really, she was going to have to send that letter, even if she was found out) and headed up to her room, shutting the door quietly. Laying on her bed and changing Letalis back to snake form, Harriet cracked open the book and began to read, not noticing the snake smirk (as much as a snake could, anyway).

That evening, Dudley paraded the living room in his new uniform. Smeltings' uniforms had maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly canes, used for hitting each other when the teachers weren't looking, which was supposed to be good training for later in life. (What it trained them in, Harriet wasn't sure.)

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were nearly in tears with pride. Harriet was in tears from trying not to laugh. Dudley looked offended to be laughed at by his pseudo-sister, but later, when he saw it on, he said it was a shame they couldn't pick a better coloring for a nice looking uniform, while trying his hardest not to laugh.

~oO0Oo~

The next morning, there was a terrible smell as Harriet entered the kitchen that morning. She wrinkled her nose and turned to her Aunt. "What's that?" She asked, seeing the giant tub in the sink, filled with what looked like dirty dishwater and old rags.

Aunt Petunia glared at the pot as if it was the bane of her existence. "Your new school uniform. They didn't give any clue as to what to buy except that it had to be grey. And apparently your Uncle doesn't want to spend any money on new clothing because of Dudley's expensive outfit, so I have to dye some of your old things grey for you. Don't worry," She added, seeing the look of horror on Harriet's face, "I picked out stuff you didn't wear often and that was just as good grey as any other color."

Sighing at the loss of what would probably be at least some decent clothes, Harriet moved to take some things out the fridge to start breakfast. Moving fast, she cooked eggs, toast and bacon, along with some pancakes. Dudley asked her what the occasion was when he entered the kitchen, but Harriet just shrugged and finished flipping the last of the pancakes merrily. Harriet almost never made pancakes; even though she loved them, they took a lot of time and energy that she normally did not have in the morning.

Uncle Vernon entered not long after Dudley. His face turned in disgust as he caught the smell of the clothing. Aunt Petunia looked at him with a look that clearly stated, it's your fault for this, so enjoy. Harriet heard the mail drop in with a small click from the slot, and went to go retrieve it.

She flicked through the various letters with interest, always scanning to see if there was something for her: A postcard from Marge, who was vacationing on the Island of Wight, a thick envelope that looked like a bill, a letter for Harriet-

Harriet stopped dead.

Trembling, she brought the letter closer to her face.

Ms. H. Potter

Second Bedroom To the Left

4 Privet Drive

Surrey

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of what looked to be old parchment. Harriet looked confusedly at the top of the letter, but there was no return address or stamp. She flipped it over, and saw it had an old fashioned seal, of a snake, badger, eagle and lion surrounding a large letter H.

Harriet stuffed the letter in her pocket and brought the rest of the mail into the kitchen. Careful not to let anyone else see it (she had a feeling it was a "for your eyes only" kind of thing) Harriet finished her breakfast and excused herself to her room. Once there, she opened the letter and began to read it.

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

She pulled out a second page. On it, it said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

sets of plain work robes (black)

plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Harriet looked at her letter with shock. When she had first seen it, she assumed it was something concerning her schooling at Stonewall High, having not looked at the address very closely. She was shocked, however, at the content of the letter. Her mind jumped to, at first, a prank. However, the only people that knew exactly where she slept were the Dursley's, and she couldn't see Dudley being able to create something of this caliber, nor could she see her aunt and/or uncle with enough sense of humor to do this.

She reread the letter. Something about the name of the school stuck out to her. Where had she heard the name Hogwarts before... Harriet's eyes landed on the second-hand book she had been given. Of course! Hogwarts was the name of the school that was mentioned in the book. But she she had thought it was a fiction book. And how would a book about a magical school (for she could only assume that it was a magical school, given the name of it) end up in a second-hand bookshop?

There was only one way to find out.

She had to go back to the bookshop.

~oO0Oo~

"So Hogwarts is a real place?"

After wheedling her way out of chores (at the cost of a few chocolate bars and clever Tom Sawyer-esque wording), Harriet had made her way down to the bookstore, by train. It showed how little her aunt and uncle cared, as she was sure they wouldn't notice if she disappeared for hours. As long as she made it back to cook dinner. Arriving at the bookshop after a pleasant ride, she headed straight for the woman who had given her the book. Apparently, it was actually owned by the woman (whose name, she was told, was Andromeda Tonks), and she was, in fact, a witch.

After explaining some of the nuances of magic (the fact that it exists, people who use it are witches and wizards, the did have wands, etc.), Andromeda told Harriet about Hogwarts (which was apparently real).

Andromeda had known she was a witch from the moment she saw Harriet with Hogwarts, a History. While she did business with both muggles and wizards, she had put Muggle Repelling charms on the shelves of books that contained wizarding books were. When she saw that Harriet had grabbed one of them, she knew. She had also assumed that she was muggle born, because Harriet was not wearing robes (most half-bloods that knew usually wore robes at that age), and had given it to her for free, to give her an advantage in the world.

When she saw her a few days later, however, and got her surname, she was shocked. As far as she knew, Lily and James Potter had only one child, who was a boy named Harry, and was most certainly not a girl named Harriet. Andromeda recovered quickly, dismissing it as a coincidence. It was possible a muggle family could have the same name. Or maybe it was a Squib line of the Potter family. She was soon jarred from her thoughts by the child's questions.

"Yes," Andromeda replied, amused. "In fact, both my husband and I went there. Along with our daughter, Nymphadora. Ted and Nymphadora were both Hufflepuffs, but I was a Slytherin." Andromeda's voice held a hint of pride as she mentioned her old house.

Harriet nodded. She had read about the founders, and the houses they had. She liked Slytherin by far the best: Cunning and ambition seemed like excellent traits. Plus, she liked snakes, and they were the house emblem.

Speaking of snakes, Harriet wondered if this is what Letalis had been holding back. She'd have to ask her when she got back...

"Is speaking to snakes a common trait in the Wizarding World?" Harriet asked, curious about her power.

Andromeda blinked. The only reason she would ask that question would be... but none of the Potters had ever been Parselmouths. She supposed the girl's mother could have been a descendant of Slytherin, but then wouldn't the girl already know about the Wizarding world? "No. In fact, it is one of the most rare abilities in our world. It is often considered a Dark trait, however, because of its ties to Salazar Slytherin, who was reputed to be a dark wizard."

Harriet's brow furrowed. She wasn't dark, was she? How could it be a dark trait? What was bad about talking to snakes? Sure, it was strange, but certainly not Dark. With an inward shrug, Harriet turned back to Andromeda. She resolved to keep her ability to herself, and not trust anyone with it. You could never be too sure who would betray you, as she had learned from her school days.

Harriet looked at her watch. She had to leave soon if she wanted to catch her train in time. With a smile, Harriet thanked Andromeda for answering her questions. As she turned to leave, Andromeda called out, "You wouldn't happen to be able to tell me what your parent's names were, would you?"

Harriet shrugged. "Yeah. James and Lily Potter."

Then she exited, missing the shocked look on Andromeda's face.

~oO0Oo~

As Harriet sat on the train, she mulled over everything Andromeda had told her, including where to get her school supplies. She had told her about the magical alleyway in London, through a pub called The Leaky Cauldron. Harriet resolved to get there as soon as possible, after telling her guardians she would not be going to Stonewall High.

Harriet's eyes shot open. How could she expect to go to Hogwarts without their permission? They would have to give her permission, after all, or else a manhunt would take place. Not that her guardians would care, mind you, but if they didn't, the neighbors might notice. And that could raise questions that the Dursley's wouldn't want to answer.

Harriet heard her stopped called. She exited the train and made her way to Little Whinging on foot, without the money for a cab. Harriet stood just outside the door to the house, planning her attack. Hopefully, her aunt hadn't found her letter yet, but if she had... Well, Harriet planned for both occurrences. Plan made, Harriet stepped inside to face the music.

~oO0Oo~

Author's Note

Well! Another chapter finished. Things are certainly heating up for our young savior! And here's where I give you guys a little input! Would you rather see her plan without her aunt finding the letter, or with her finding it? I'll put a poll on my page and you guys can vote.

Also, I would like to speak to this 'Guest' person who has so delightfully deigned to provide his criticism to my humble story. To those who have not seen it, I shall impart his oh so wonderful words of critique to you:

"This is actually terrible."

Seriously. I don't mind criticism. I even welcome it! As long as you tell me what I'm doing wrong, then I will attempt to fix it. But to just say my work is terrible is to tell me you can't even be bothered to tell me why, showing you have zero respect for my writing. And that's not cool.

Gah. That sounds so old. Anyways, next chapter will be up as soon as I can figure out which route to take. (Which probably means next update will be in forever, I'm terrible with decisions.)


End file.
